The 1980s saw an explosive manifestation of psychedelic music from the West Coast of the USA known as the PAISLEY UNDERGROUND. This 280 page book compiles archive interviews from the most important magazines of the era. It also features new introductions to the bands by the top writers in the field.

Newly pregnant, stuck in a job she doesn't like and mourning the death of her cousin, Beth Hammond's life isn't working out the way she thought it would. So when her boyfriend wins a weekend away, at the east coast seaside resort of Heyton, Beth thinks this could be just what they need - some time to themselves, to get away, relax and make their plans for the future.

Unfortunately, as they begin their weekend, a JCB driver accidentally damages a centuries old memorial at the beach. He hopes no-one will notice but something has - a presence that was buried beneath the memorial, sealed in stone tomb, that now wants its revenge on the residents of Heyton.

Black Mirrors is the debut collection from Paul Edwards, a writer who’s been involved in the UK horror scene for a while now and edited the magazine “Unsane”, back in the days when small press zines were all print editions. Published by Rainfall Books, another name from the past which is re-invigorating itself, this features fourteen stories (two original) and runs a gamut of styles, across the breadth of the horror spectrum. Edwards has a keen eye for character detail, giving even the smallest of roles a life with elegant phrasing and descriptions and he’s unflinching in his view of people and their relationships. Perhaps befitting the title, a lot of the stories focus on mirrors and the dark secrets that linger within them and this is keenly highlighted with “Black Mirror, Mirror Black”, a scary mixture of traveling fairgrounds and missing children (and difficult to read if you’re a parent). Modern life, with its inherent bleakness and downtrodden, broken people is another keystone of the collection, with “Irrecoverable” creating a link between hoodies, council estates and demonic possession, whilst “End Of The Line” features a reclusive child killer, who meets his own horrifying demons. Things occasionally take a surreal turn, with “The Foundling” featuring two spinsters find a baby wrapped up on their doorstep and decide to take care of it and “The Centre Of Everything”, where a downtrodden man, unloved by his family, finds a tear in reality. The highlight of the collection is “The Bleeder”, which takes everything and melds it into something quite dark and really quite beautiful, a horror story for today, for damaged souls, that gives no easy or comfortable answers. With no filler, this collection highlights Edwards as a writer spreading his wings and pushing his abilities and marks him as someone to watch for in the future.

TERROR TALES Vol 2 #4

Edited by John B. Ford & Paul Kane.

Cover: Steve Lines. Design: Paul kane.

CLOUD 040

Price:£9.99 UK USA £25 £14 Elsewhere

Contents:

Bolinbroke Avenue - Peter James

A Reel Devil - Roger Gray

Harlequin Valentine - Neil Gaiman

Charlie - Eric Steele

The Man Who Collected Barker - Kim Newman

The Hand of Glory - Simon Clark

Haven - Scott Schultz

Falling into the Arms of Death he Found a Beautiful Place - Jeff Vandemeer